Tragedy Ever After

Life's a Game of Chess

        ~Donnie's POV~

     As much as I would have liked to tell Y/n that we needed to coop up and avoid going anywhere for a bit, I couldn't disrupt their schedule by doing that. Instead, I opted to walk them to and from school so I could watch out for my brothers and April.

     I could feel their hand still locked with mine as we headed back to our apartment. April wasn't going to let up, especially not after the threats I made regarding Y/n. Was Dale not enough of a warning that I didn't want anyone touching my things?

     No worries, I could always find something else to really sell my message. They would all be scared of me, I just needed to take care of a few more of their pawns. April would learn who controlled the board.

     "Don," I hand waved in front of me and I saw my human trying to catch my attention. "I was asking if you're hungry. I know I didn't make anything this morning, so I was gonna make some rice and eggs."

     "That would be good," I smiled down at them. "I hope my brother didn't scare you too much?"

     "Hmm? Oh, no, I was only a bit nervous," they said over their shoulder as they started preparing the rice. "Thank you for coming to get me."

     "I've told you, I don't like to share," I watched them from my spot on the couch. "Especially not with my brothers. They just don't seem to understand that. But, that's okay. I'll make them understand."

     "Is that why Dale was in a cast?" I heard my human speak up again. "He ran away when he saw me."

     "The pawns are always the easiest to deal with," I mused. "What was it now. . . Orange Pawn, they're out a knight, Cyber Bishop, Blue Rook, and Red King."

     "What'cha talking about?" I was pulled from my thoughts by my human sitting in front of me.

     "One of my last missions, our code names were all chess pieces. Since then, I've raised from a knight to a king," I told them and they looked up at me expectantly. "And that makes you the queen. My problem is, I don't know how many pawns April has."

     "How many do we have?" my brows furrowed at their question. I didn't have anyone at my disposal. I had to make all the right moves while avoiding checkmate and protecting the queen.

     Some people wouldn't give it a second thought, giving up the queen to keep the king out of check. I wouldn't be one of them.

     "Unfortunately, we just continue to avoid check," my human deflated a bit. "I'm not the most. . . likable. If I did have pawns, they're long gone now."

     "And we can't make any?" oh, how foolish of me. Just because I left home, Shelldon is still my creation. He would still listen to me. He would be our bishop. If I could program him, I could just as easily create more pawns.

     "It will take time," I nodded and they smiled up at me. "But, it's doable. For your protection, I can make my own pawns. Not to mention, I believe our opponent just lost their bishop as well," I swiped on my tech gauntlet and typed away. Shelldon would be home soon, too.

     I could only imagine the praise I would receive from Y/n when they saw my creation. Would they be amazed by the AI I had programmed? Who am I kidding, of course, they would be.

     I glanced at the tracker on my gauntlet while Y/n stood to make eggs to mix in with the cooking rice. Shelldon would definitely need an upgrade, he's quite behind. Not to mention, his current programming would keep him from harming my brothers.

     I could hear the humming of motors inside my room, and Y/n seemed to hear it as well. "What's that?"

     "Y/n, I want to introduce you to Shelldon," I hopped over the couch to open the door to my room and the bot flew out.

     "Whoa," they looked at him amazed. The bot was analyzing the human as if to check if they were a threat. "You're cool looking," they hummed as they looked over him. "You made him, Don?"

     "But, of course," I grinned pridefully. "Do you know anyone else so skilled in tech to create such a beauty?"

     "He's awesome! Don, you're awesome. I'm Y/n," they quickly introduced themself to the bot. Shelldon continued to eye them a moment longer before jumping into that chill version of himself my brothers had created for him.

     "I hoped you'd like him," I smiled at my human. "He is a bit. . . needy at times. He likes to get scratches behind his ears."

     "That's adorable!" they cooed. "C'mere Shell," they held their arms out to the bot who gratefully accepted the contact. Had he been powered down this whole time? Or did my brothers simply ignore his presence since it reminded them of me?

     Maybe that was for the better, it would make things easier for me. Shelldon would be able to retrieve any materials I needed without question and I wouldn't need to risk Y/n.

     "Here ya go," my human held a plate out to me to break me from my thoughts. I nodded in thanks and began to eat while watching my human interact with Shelldon.

     Perhaps Shelldon would be able to accompany them while I focused on making pawns. After all, I would do just about anything to protect my human.

     Word Count: 933. Another one. I had to guess what piece Leo was because they didn't say in the episode, but I'm pretty sure he would've been the rook. Well, enjoy!